Rescuing ‘Ridgie’ in Sausalito

When Ridgie the sea lion was found on the shore of a beach near Sausalito, Calif., he had a bacterial infection so severe that he was considered unlikely to survive. —Ingrid Overgard, Marine Mammal Center

One question school board chairman Austin Drukker didn’t think he’d be asking himself on a recent trip out West was, “What should I name this ailing sea lion?”

Mr. Drukker was in California with his fiancée, Joanne Broccoli, visiting her sister and brother-in-law in October, when they got the call.

“Someone had spotted a distressed seal on the beach,” he said. It turned it was a sea lion, which looks similar to a seal but has a few distinct characteristics, like ear flaps and longer fore flippers.

Ms. Broccoli’s sister and brother-in-law volunteer with the Marine Mammal Center, which rescues animals that are sick, trapped, injured — even shot.

When they found the sea lion, he looked like someone had let the air out of him.

“They have to approach the seal a certain way and they have people that have boards with handles on the back so that they can get on either side of the seal.”

The sea lion howled as they tried to help him.

“They’ll bite you, you have to be careful,” Mr. Drukker said.

“We had a big — it looks like dog crate — and they put it on two poles, so four of us can carry it.”

“We put the dog crate in front [and] kind of prod and guide him into the crate…